A popular Ellesmere Port town centre pub has closed.

The Thomas Telford on Whitby Road was one of 45 pubs being disposed of nationally by operator Wetherspoon for ‘commercial’ reasons, it was disclosed last year.

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said at the time: “We appreciate that our loyal customers will be disappointed with the decision.

“Like other companies Wetherspoon has to take commercial decisions which, while beneficial for the company, might not always be welcome by customers.

“The pubs will remain trading as Wetherspoon pubs as normal until or if the pubs are sold. There will be no job losses as a result of the announcement.”

Joint selling agents CBRE and Savills suggested the 45 pubs represented ‘an excellent opportunity to acquire high volume businesses with strong food sales in established locations which are fitted to an extremely high standard’.

“We therefore anticipate a broad range of interest from pub, bar and restaurant groups,” they added.

The local branch of CAMRA described the pub, which opened in 2003, as having ‘a slightly more classy feel that a typical ‘spoons venue’ thanks largely to thoughtfully fitted lighted and some good modern decorative features’.

“There is a good selection of ales with the landlord always keen to respond to customer preferences,” CAMRA suggested adding that closure ‘could leave the town centre a beer desert’.

Commenting on pub closures generally in relation to a planning application at The Sutton, formerly The Marquis, on Gleneagles Road, Peter Zemroch at Starbeck Drive, Little Sutton, told planners at the borough council: “I was devastated to learn that Ellesmere Port is to lose yet another pub, namely the Sutton.”

He continued: “At the last count there were just 21 left in the town depending on where you set its boundaries. Compare that with Chester which has over 70.

“Pubs continue to close in Ellesmere Port at an alarming rate despite the lack of watering holes.

“Recent years have seen the demise of the Wing Half, Strawberry, Sportsmans Arms, Knot, Black Lion, Viscount, Foxfield, Sutton Way, Ellesmere Arms, Grosvenor and Westminster.”

Particulars for the sale describe the pub as being in a prominent position in a busy central location close to the Port Arcades.

The Salvation Army separately occupies the first floor on a let running to 2022 and bookmakers William Hill are in an adjoining unit in the same ownership as the pub with a let until 2019.

A spokesman for Wetherspoon said: “All staff are being relocated to other Wetherspoon pubs in the area, including The Wheatsheaf in Ellesmere Port and our pubs in Chester so there will be no job losses as a result of this closure.”

The pub closed its doors on Monday (August 14).